It's Friday and everyone is going to the hot new disco. The Commodore's are scheduled to play if Floyd shows up with the instruments and Nicole dreams of becoming a disco star. Other characters are there to win the dance contest, or to put a little excitement into a fifth anniversary.

n 1922 New York City, Millie Dillmount and Miss Dorothy Brown are just two of the girls living at the Priscilla Hotel for Single Young Ladies run by Mrs. Meers. Orphaned, Miss Dorothy, just recently arrived, is a naive, old-fashioned girl from a seemingly privileged background who has aspirations to be a stage actress. From more modest means, Millie, in New York for three months, used to be old fashioned, but now has a new modern sensibility and look to match, complete with bobbed hair and dresses with hemlines above the knee. Included in this new modern sensibility is Millie's goal of getting a job as a stenographer, with a quick promotion to being her wealthy boss' "Mrs.". Love is not to factor into the equation. She believes she's found the right employer in the form of chisel-jawed Trevor Graydon of the Sincere Trust Insurance Company. Millie's pursuit of Mr. Graydon is despite the fact that Mr. Graydon sees her as one of the boys, he has old fashioned sensibilities, and Millie herself has a mutual attraction to another boy named Jimmy Smith. Although she likes Jimmy, Millie feels that Jimmy, as a paper clip salesman with an overwhelming happy-go-lucky attitude, is not driven enough to be husband material. That doesn't stop Jimmy's pursuit of Millie. In her association with Jimmy, Millie meets flamboyant wealthy Renaissance woman Muzzy Van Hossmere. Jimmy's father once worked as Muzzy's gardener. Originally from humble means much like Millie, Muzzy tries to convince Millie that true love will lead to happiness, as that is what happened when she met the now deceased Mr. Van Hossmere who she had no idea was rich. In other goings-on among this new circle of friends, Miss Dorothy leaves New York without a word to anyone except Mrs. Meers. Thinking this situation rather odd, Millie connects Miss Dorothy's leaving with that of other girls previously living at the Priscilla Hotel. With Mr. Graydon's help, Jimmy and Millie try to find out what happened to Miss Dorothy.

Fresh faced and naive, 17-year-old Bennie arrives in Buenos Aires to search for his older brother who has been missing for more than a decade. The family had emigrated from Italy to Argentina, but with the great musical success of their father Carlo, an acclaimed symphony conductor, the family moved from Argentina to New York. When Bennie finds his brother, the volatile and melancholy poet Tetro, he is not at all what he expected. In the course of staying with Tetro and his girlfriend Miranda, the two brothers grapple with the haunting experiences of their shared past.

An aspiring country/western singer, whose money is disappearing faster than his career opportunities, enters a "Tough Man" amateur boxing contest to earn some cash to pay his bills. Amazingly enough, he wins it, and is picked to go onto the national finals. He's torn between his first love, music, and the glitz, glamor and money of the "Tough Man" world.

When 19-year-old gay-rights activist Tommy and 24-year-old Alan first meet in 1973, they find themselves on the opposite sides of the political coin. Despite their many differences, they form a loving long-term relationship. In 1977, during Anita Bryant's crusade, an anti-gay book Alan wrote years before gets published without his consent. The book destroys Tommy's credibility as a well-known activist, resulting in Tommy and Alan's break-up. Seven years later, Alan is given a second chance, a reunion with Tommy and the opportunity to set things right.